THE PROPHECY OF THE EVERLASTING GOSPEL (PART ONE)
THE PROPHECY OF THE EVERLASTING GOSPEL (PART ONE)
My apologies for the profanity in the movie clip.
Have you ever seen the movie- JFK by Oliver Stone? There is a famous scene in which the actor, Joe Pesci, is trying to explain to Kevin Costner’s character just how the assassination of President John F. Kennedy occurred. At one point Joe Pesci says:
“It’s a mystery, wrapped in a riddle, inside an enigma!”
This is exactly how most people react when they read Revelation 14:6-7! They sense that it is an important prophecy but they’re not sure if they have interpreted it correctly. The prophetic meaning of this passage is indeed a mystery, wrapped in a riddle, inside an enigma!
Today’s post begins a two-part message on the interpretation and the importance of Revelation 14:6-7. This particular passage is also known as ‘The Everlasting Gospel’. Do you understand that the proper interpretation of this scripture confirms that we are the generation of the ‘last days’? Today’s post sets the scene and next week’s post will explain how this prophecy affects you. Part one and part two of this message are both important.
REVELATION 14:6-7
6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
COMMON CASE ‘G’ VS CAPITAL ‘G’: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
Did you know that there is a difference between the words ‘Gospel’ and ‘gospel’? Gospel- with a capital ‘g’, refers to the story of Christ’s life. In the Apostolic Scriptures, we have two Gospels- the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of John.
We all understand what a biography is. These Gospel Books are just like saying the ‘Biography of Christ according to Matthew’ or the ‘Biography of Christ according to John’.
On the other hand, gospel with a common case ‘g’, means a core message, concept or doctrine.
Did you know that the traditional 27 book New Testament mentions twelve different gospels? Below, you will find a list of these twelve gospels and their references.
1. gospel of the kingdom
-Matthew 4:23, 9:35 24:14
2. gospel of Jesus Christ
-Mark 1:1
3. gospel of the kingdom of God
-Mark 1:14
4. gospel of the grace of God
-Acts 20:24
5. gospel of God
-Romans 1:1 & 15:16
-2 Corinthians 11:7
-1 Thessalonians 2:2, 2:8 & 2:9
-1 Peter 4:17
6. gospel of his son
-Romans 1:9
7. gospel of Christ
-Romans 1;16, 15:19 & 15:29
-1 Corinthians 9:12 & 9:18
-2 Corinthians 4:4, 9:13 & 10:14
-Galatians 1:7
-Philippians 1:27
-1 Thessalonians 3:2
8. gospel of peace
-Romans 10:15
-Ephesians 6:15
9. gospel of the uncircumcision
-Ephesians 6:15
9. gospel of the uncircumcision
-Galatians 2:7
10. gospel of the circumcision
-Galatians 2:7
11. gospel of Lord Jesus Christ
-2 Thessalonians 1:8
12. gospel of the blessed God
-1 Timothy 1:11
So which of these twelve gospels is the ‘everlasting’ gospel, referred to in the Book of Revelation, and why is knowing this so important?
A PROCESS OF ELIMINATION
As we seek to identify which of these twelve gospels is the everlasting gospel, let’s begin with a process of elimination.
Did you know that we can automatically rule out nine of these gospels? Look at the list again. Did you notice that the following gospels only appear in the Pauline writings?
1. gospel of Jesus Christ
2. gospel of the grace of God
3. gospel of his son
4. gospel of Christ
5. gospel of peace
-2 Thessalonians 1:8
12. gospel of the blessed God
-1 Timothy 1:11
So which of these twelve gospels is the ‘everlasting’ gospel, referred to in the Book of Revelation, and why is knowing this so important?
A PROCESS OF ELIMINATION
As we seek to identify which of these twelve gospels is the everlasting gospel, let’s begin with a process of elimination.
Did you know that we can automatically rule out nine of these gospels? Look at the list again. Did you notice that the following gospels only appear in the Pauline writings?
1. gospel of Jesus Christ
2. gospel of the grace of God
3. gospel of his son
4. gospel of Christ
5. gospel of peace
6. gospel of the uncircumcision
7. gospel of the circumcision
8. gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ
9. gospel of the blessed God
These gospels are NEVER discussed in the Apostolic Scriptures and, therefore, we can safely eliminate them!
We can also eliminate the ‘gospel of the kingdom of God’ from our list of twelve because Christ’s definition of the 'kingdom of God' is completely different to the Pauline definition of the kingdom of God! In an earlier post, I explained that Christ never described the kingdom of God as being ‘within us’. Christ promotes action, not piety!
So what about the two remaining gospels- which one of these two gospels is Revelation’s everlasting gospel?
1. gospel of the kingdom
2. gospel of God
It is actually quite simple to figure out! Here’s a clue- do you understand the difference between ‘eternal’ and ‘everlasting’?
ETERNAL VS. EVERLASTING
The word ‘eternal’ refers to something that has no beginning and no end. That is, it refers to something or someone that has always existed. God is eternal. He has always been here and He will always be here! God wasn’t created. He is the Creator of all.
‘Everlasting’ is different. Something that is everlasting had a beginning but has no end! Christ is everlasting. Christ was begotten. There was a time when He didn’t exist! The new heaven and the new earth will be everlasting. They haven’t been created as yet but when they are created, they will never end!
This is a critically important concept to understand. God is not everlasting. God is eternal. Therefore, the ‘gospel of God’ CANNOT be the everlasting gospel!
The ‘gospel of the kingdom’, via a simple process of elimination, must be the everlasting gospel! Can we prove this using further assessment? Yes!
WHAT IS THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM?
I have explained in earlier posts (and in my Bible study book entitled ‘What is The Kingdom of God’), that the gospel of the kingdom is actually a shortcut phrase! It actually refers to two distinct but related concepts. The gospel of the kingdom is a message about the ‘kingdom of God’ and the ‘kingdom of heaven’.
Remember, the concept of the 'kingdom of God' is specifically mentioned in the LORD’S Prayer and a reference to the 'kingdom of heaven' was given in Christ's first sermon!
8. gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ
9. gospel of the blessed God
These gospels are NEVER discussed in the Apostolic Scriptures and, therefore, we can safely eliminate them!
We can also eliminate the ‘gospel of the kingdom of God’ from our list of twelve because Christ’s definition of the 'kingdom of God' is completely different to the Pauline definition of the kingdom of God! In an earlier post, I explained that Christ never described the kingdom of God as being ‘within us’. Christ promotes action, not piety!
So what about the two remaining gospels- which one of these two gospels is Revelation’s everlasting gospel?
1. gospel of the kingdom
2. gospel of God
It is actually quite simple to figure out! Here’s a clue- do you understand the difference between ‘eternal’ and ‘everlasting’?
ETERNAL VS. EVERLASTING
The word ‘eternal’ refers to something that has no beginning and no end. That is, it refers to something or someone that has always existed. God is eternal. He has always been here and He will always be here! God wasn’t created. He is the Creator of all.
‘Everlasting’ is different. Something that is everlasting had a beginning but has no end! Christ is everlasting. Christ was begotten. There was a time when He didn’t exist! The new heaven and the new earth will be everlasting. They haven’t been created as yet but when they are created, they will never end!
This is a critically important concept to understand. God is not everlasting. God is eternal. Therefore, the ‘gospel of God’ CANNOT be the everlasting gospel!
The ‘gospel of the kingdom’, via a simple process of elimination, must be the everlasting gospel! Can we prove this using further assessment? Yes!
WHAT IS THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM?
I have explained in earlier posts (and in my Bible study book entitled ‘What is The Kingdom of God’), that the gospel of the kingdom is actually a shortcut phrase! It actually refers to two distinct but related concepts. The gospel of the kingdom is a message about the ‘kingdom of God’ and the ‘kingdom of heaven’.
Remember, the concept of the 'kingdom of God' is specifically mentioned in the LORD’S Prayer and a reference to the 'kingdom of heaven' was given in Christ's first sermon!
Do you remember that Christ asked us to begin the LORD'S Prayer by saying the following (Matthew 6:9-10, KJV, emphasis mine)?:
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 THY KINGDOM COME, Thy will be done IN EARTH, as it is in heaven.
And the Matthew 25:31-46 passage explains how believers in the kingdom of God should behave. They should produce action not piety!
The concept of the kingdom of heaven, on the other hand, refers to the coming judgment! Christ’s first sermon introduced this concept of impending judgment (see Matthew 4:17). In His first sermon, Christ urged us to repent and to turn back to God’s righteousness. He warned us that time was running out- i.e. our window of opportunity for repentance is closing!
THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
Remember that in the Book of Revelation, believers are promised a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21:1). But this new heaven and earth only comes AFTER the Book of Life judgment mentioned in Revelation 20:12-15! Consider the following verses (KJV, emphasis mine):
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the BOOK OF LIFE: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
21 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
The kingdom of heaven message reveals that it is an everlasting place, created especially for those who pass the Book of Life judgment.
SUMMING UP
So, at the end of part one, what have we learned today? We have learned FIVE things.
1. We now know that only two of the twelve New Testament gospels were mentioned in the Apostolic Scriptures!
-gospel of the kingdom
-gospel of God
2. We now know that the everlasting gospel cannot be referring to the ‘gospel of God’ because God is NOT everlasting! God is eternal (and we explained the difference between everlasting and eternal earlier).
3. Therefore, by a process of elimination, we now know that the everlasting gospel must be referring to the ‘gospel of the kingdom’. And we also know that the gospel of the kingdom is really a two-part message- the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven!
4. We also know that the everlasting gospel cannot be referring to the kingdom of God. Why? Because we know that God is NOT everlasting! God is eternal. Therefore, the everlasting gospel must be specifically referring to the kingdom of heaven!
5. Finally, we now know that Revelation 21:1 confirms that there will be a new heaven (and earth). Therefore, this new heaven is not eternal; it is everlasting! Even though this new heaven has no end, it will have a beginning!
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 THY KINGDOM COME, Thy will be done IN EARTH, as it is in heaven.
And the Matthew 25:31-46 passage explains how believers in the kingdom of God should behave. They should produce action not piety!
The concept of the kingdom of heaven, on the other hand, refers to the coming judgment! Christ’s first sermon introduced this concept of impending judgment (see Matthew 4:17). In His first sermon, Christ urged us to repent and to turn back to God’s righteousness. He warned us that time was running out- i.e. our window of opportunity for repentance is closing!
THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
Remember that in the Book of Revelation, believers are promised a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21:1). But this new heaven and earth only comes AFTER the Book of Life judgment mentioned in Revelation 20:12-15! Consider the following verses (KJV, emphasis mine):
REVELATION 20:12-15
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the BOOK OF LIFE: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
REVELATION 21:1
21 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
The kingdom of heaven message reveals that it is an everlasting place, created especially for those who pass the Book of Life judgment.
SUMMING UP
So, at the end of part one, what have we learned today? We have learned FIVE things.
1. We now know that only two of the twelve New Testament gospels were mentioned in the Apostolic Scriptures!
-gospel of the kingdom
-gospel of God
2. We now know that the everlasting gospel cannot be referring to the ‘gospel of God’ because God is NOT everlasting! God is eternal (and we explained the difference between everlasting and eternal earlier).
3. Therefore, by a process of elimination, we now know that the everlasting gospel must be referring to the ‘gospel of the kingdom’. And we also know that the gospel of the kingdom is really a two-part message- the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven!
4. We also know that the everlasting gospel cannot be referring to the kingdom of God. Why? Because we know that God is NOT everlasting! God is eternal. Therefore, the everlasting gospel must be specifically referring to the kingdom of heaven!
5. Finally, we now know that Revelation 21:1 confirms that there will be a new heaven (and earth). Therefore, this new heaven is not eternal; it is everlasting! Even though this new heaven has no end, it will have a beginning!
SO NEXT WEEK...
The everlasting gospel is a message about the kingdom of heaven and we will be exploring the prophetic significance of this in next week's post. What is this passage trying to tell us about the timeline of the last days? Is this passage one more proof that we ARE the generation of the last days? And finally, what must believers do in fulfillment of the command in Revelation 14:7?
See you next week!
*****
‘HARVEST TIME Prophecies’ is the blog post site of TNG Academy. Our blog post site gets its name from Matthew 13:30- the separation of wheat and tares that occurs at harvest time (i.e. the endtimes). Remember, the ‘wheat’ symbolises the things of God and the ‘tares’ symbolise the things of the devil.
The purpose of this blog is threefold.
1. Some of the posts are written to help the reader develop a deeper understanding of the theology of Christ’s core message- i.e. the ‘gospel of the kingdom’.
2. Some of the posts are written for the reader’s personal discipleship journey. We need to understand what God expects from us. After all, all believers should be on a journey of ‘becoming’ our best selves, capable of impacting and changing the world!
3. Finally, some of the posts are written to answer this question:
What would our faith look like today IF we had fully embraced Christ’s doctrines, as recorded by His Apostles, and rejected the doctrines of Paul and the other false apostles?
If we are sincere about our desire to restore Christianity to its roots, i.e. a return to Christ’s original message, then we must start by admitting that ‘while men slept’ (Matthew 13:25) the enemy planted false teachings (tares) into the New Testament!
Visit our website- WWW.TNGACADEMY.ORG, to see our Bible study books. Which books would I recommend for you to read first? Start with these three-
- WHAT IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD?
- MENE MENE TEKEL UPHARSIN!
- THE APOSTOLIC SCRIPTURES.
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